ERS conducts research on USDA's child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, and After-School Snacks and Suppers.

The Food Dollar Series measures annual expenditures by U.S. consumers on domestically produced food and is composed of three primary series. Nominal (current year) and real data are now available from 1993 to 2016.

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In FY 2017, expenditures on USDA’s 15 domestic food and nutrition programs totaled $98.6 billion, 4 percent less than in the previous fiscal year and almost 10 percent less than the historical high of $109.2 billion set in FY 2013.

This report discusses February 2018 USDA forecasts for U.S. agricultural trade in FY2018. Exports are forecast at $139.5 billion in FY2018 and imports are expected to reach $118.5 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $21.0 billion.

The rural population is shrinking due to outmigration of young adults, fewer births, increased mortality among working-age adults, and an aging population. Rural job growth since 2011 has been well below the urban growth rate.

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March 15, 2018 3:00 PM

The Food Assistance Landscape: FY 2017 Report

This report uses preliminary data from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service to examine trends in U.S. food and nutrition assistance programs through fiscal 2017. It also summarizes two recent ERS reports: one on trends in the prevalence and se...

March 14, 2018 3:00 PM

Sugar and Sweeteners Outlook: March 2018

The food dollar data series is composed of three primary series—the marketing bill series, the industry group series, and the primary factor series—that shed light on different aspects of the food supply chain. Nominal (current year) and re...

U.S. manufacturing employment has been declining since the 1950s. A better understanding of the factors affecting the survival of rural manufacturing plants may help develop strategies to retain these jobs.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has undergone economic, social, and demographic transformations over the past 10 to 15 years. Among the poorest regions in the world, it faces major political and economic challenges and low food security.

Farm employment has increased in the last two years

Hired farmworkers include field crop workers, nursery workers, livestock workers, farmworker supervisors, and hired farm managers. The average number of hired farmworkers has steadily declined over the last century, from roughly 3.4 million to just over 1 million. Because the U.S. labor force grew, agricultural employment as a proportion of total employment has declined even more sharply. According to the Farm Labor Survey, the annual average number of people employed as hired farmworkers, including agricultural service workers, decreased from 1,142,000 in 1990 to 1,053,000 in 2010. But, the survey also showed that average farm employment in 2010 was above 2007 levels. Employment is highly seasonal: in January of 2010, there were 802,000 workers, while in July the figure stood at 1,245,000. This chart appeared on the ERS website, in Farm Labor, updated in July 2011.